Unless a full lift is what you want, I would lower the rear - that's where the issue is.
Handling & wind resistance will both benefit, compared to lifting the front.

I have a friend that professes - "Fix what's wrong, not what's right"
Seems overly-simple, but it's good advice

 

Ok, I measured. The distance from the top of the tire (235 75 R15) to the fenderwell lip is 4.5" on my truck with ~1 year-old Moog CC820 springs. And my truck is no longer *perfectly* level, the front is ~1/4" lower than the rear. So the springs have settled a bit over time.

If you go with the CC822 springs, just remember you may need 2 or 3 degree camber bushings for alignment.

 

1st thing I would do is get rid of everything aftermarket and bring it back to stock. You have no clue where you are, if you have non-stock springs in the back and coil spacers in the front. Those add-a leafs in the back are ruining your ride also.

 

Thank you, Galendor.

With the coil spring spacers, my front is exactly the same height as yours is. So it looks like the Moog CC820 springs will keep my truck exactly where it is right now, except I wouldn't need the spacers anymore. Good deal!

That means the back of my truck is still going to be too high. (Currently 3" higher in the back) If I take out the rear add-a-leaf, the rear is going to be almost completely level and will squat down if I haul so much as 50 pounds in the back.

I think so too, Franklin. Other than being too high, the ride is pretty stiff back there. Other than that, does the add-a-leaf hurt anything? Would lift blocks be a better choice?

I would like to keep the front of the truck where it is (except use the Moog CC820 springs), but have the stock rake in the back. That means when I remove the add-a -leaf, I need to find a way to get the rear up 1-1/2" - 2". Any ideas?

 

To keep the stock ride, you will have to use blocks. Anything else will stiffen the soft leaf and make the ride rough. Even airbags will make the ride stiff if you have to keep too much air in them to keep the ride height where you want it when it's empty.

 

From the specs, CC822 would give you maybe 1/2- 3/4" more lift than CC820. Since your rear end is 3" higher than the front, why not use CC822 to lift the front, and a hitch + bed mat + spare tire to weight down the back (i.e. your original idea?).

With stock rear leafs, the CC822 springs lifted my front end to where it was just slightly higher than the rear. Since your rear is so high already, that wouldn't be a problem for you.

Spring # CC822
Inside Diameter 4.000
Bar Diameter 0.718
Install Height 13.00
Load rate (lbs) 1230
Spring Rate (Lbs/in.) 366
Free Height 16.38
End Type pigtail ends

Spring # CC820
Inside Diameter 4.000
Bar Diameter 0.718
Install Height 12.13
Load rate (lbs) 1428
Spring Rate (Lbs/in.) 366
Free Height 16.19
End Type pigtail ends

 

I agree with Franklin, you need to bring everything back to stock and get the truck right.

Why were the add-a-leafs even put back there to begin with? Are any of the old springs back there bad/worn out? Even more reason to put a whole new spring pack back there and take the add-a-leafs out.

My truck is an F150 4x4, stock suspension, regular cab, short bed, and has gone through some pretty heavy use around a farm and towing in the mountains. The PO snatched off the factory rear bumper and welded this in its place (which, I don't mind):



As you can see, there is no spare tire carrier underneath the bed. It also has a toolbox that is full of stuff mounted TO the bed.

Even with the slightly worn out springs, the spare tire in the back, the new, heavier 1/4'' steel bumper that was welded up to the frame, the toolbox, and me in the truck,, it still sits 1 1/2'' higher in the rear with 31x10.5x15 El Dorado MTZ's.

Granted, it is a 4x4, but the difference between a 4x4's rear springs and a 2x4's rear springs (what, 2 or 2 1/2'' wide compared to 3'' wide?) would be negligible I would think.

The short bed really is deceiving. It almost looks level on even ground but it isn't.

I'd get a new set of front coil springs and put up front, and a new set of leaf packs and a factory block to go in the rear. Don't forget all new U-bolts and bushings.

 

Get rid of the add-a-leaf. It will lower the truck about 1.5 - 2"

 

If it is only a 1/2" - 3/4" higher, that may be a good idea. Will the truck look too tall, being a 2wd with the 255/70R/15 tires? I also remember reading it was hard for you to find the camber bushings to align the front with those springs, so I thought the CC822s would be a bad idea.

It lowers my rear to exactly level with the front of the truck. Then when I haul as little as 50 pounds, my rear end squats down and looks ridiculous. The back doesn't hardly drop down at all with the add-a-leaf. I also want a slight rake as I think it looks better on a truck. I would rather do it right and get new leaf springs of the correct height. I am sure mine are worn out after 27 years and 190,000 miles.

Update:

I did a search on the forums, and found this site:
http://www.generalspringkc.com/index...parent=77&pg=1

They list two different versions of rear leaf springs: a 4-count and a 5-count leaf pack. I assume the 4-count is a lighter duty spring, and that is what my truck has minus the add-a-leaf in the back. Will the stock 5-pack leaf spring would give me the slight lift I want and better hauling/towing capacity without using an add-a-leaf?

 

How do you know with out the add-a-leaf how the truck will act. You didnt put it in to know how it acted before

 

No, I didn't put the add-a-leaf in, but my father did.

- My father bought the truck from the original owner in 1993. I was 17 years old, so I also drove this truck around occasionally.

- When he got the truck, it had twist-in coil spacers wedged inside the front coil springs. The truck sat perfectly level. I used to drive this truck to get hay and horse feed for him. When the load was over 100 pounds, the back of the truck would squat way down and look ridiculous.

- He/We decided to take the coil spacers out, but then the truck dropped down way low in the front. So he/we put the spacers back in.

- To compensate for this and bring the rear back up some, my father installed the add-a-leaf in the rear. The back didn't squat down at all after this, but the rear of the truck is too high, as you can see in the pictures.

Which brings us to the present. I am trying to do this truck right. The Moog CC820 springs that Galendor has on his truck would bring the front to where my truck is right now but without the spacers, which I feel is a good height. I would like to get a new set of rear springs that will handle loads better without squatting but without the add-a-leaf. I would also like the leaf springs to be higher than my stock springs were without the add-a-leaf to retain the factory rake.

Will the 5-pack leaves accomplish this over the 4-pack I have now?

 

I would expect so, with the sag you describe them having (without the extra leaf)

I had an 88 F150 - it had stock 5 leaf rear springs & sat with a moderate rake when empty.
I never took any measurements while I had it, but there is a photo of it in my album '1983 F250 XLT', before it was sold.

The stance of the 88 in that pic is accurate to how it sat on flat ground; the 83 is sitting with it's rear in a slight depression.

 

Ok. That explains alot. As for right height. I really dont think the 5 leafs will give more height than the 4 leafs. my brother had broken 4 leafs in his 96 and we replaced them w a used set of 5 leafs. No difference in height. As for load capacity, I dont know, we did not drive the truck with the broken 4 leaf springs